Fragile Heart of Ours
by KAISRE
Summary: An unknown cause has been reviving the dark, bringing back old faces. In a chaotic world, can Riku, Sora, and Kairi be able to preserve their lifelong bonds while fighting to protect? Or will their friendship snap and fade into darkness? Pairings Inside.
1. Chapter 1

Yes, I do like Kingdom Hearts enough to write a fic. No, I haven't given up on the GX fandom. Actually, the new OABAE chapter is still in the works. But seriously, I feel so bad because I havent updated in months now xP My bad. Well if you like Kingdom Hearts, I hope you'll enjoy this fic x3

**Summary****- **An unknown cause has been reviving the dark, bringing back old faces. In a chaotic world, can Riku, Sora, and Kairi be able to preserve their lifelong bonds? Or will their friendship snap and fade into darkness?

**Rating**- T for swearing, mild gore, and slight sexual themes. (May change later)

**Pairings-** RikuxSoraxKairi friendship. RikuxSora and AxelxRoxas later on. No bashing.

**Chapter 1**

How long has it been? Life had its own doors, windowless corridors, odds and ends. Riku, Sora, and Kairi were now able to enjoy a peaceful time at Destiny Islands. But was such a luxury affordable? According to King Mickey, things weren't over. Not yet, and maybe, they never will.

The trio rested on their favorite papou tree, the sun was just setting, bathing them in red light. It gave them a sense of home and safety. True, eventually, Riku and Sora will have to leave once again, but neither of the three are ready to part. Not yet, at least deep down they knew so. They passed the time by telling each other of their adventures, maybe telling stories will relieve the inevitable future.

"And then Leon was like 'We may never meet again, but we'll never forget each other.' Geeze, well what do you know. Come to think of it… I kind of miss everyone out there. I hope they haven't forgotten about me again!" Sora pouted. Riku's twitching finger was raised during his failing attempts to cut through Sora's talking.

"Uhm, that's really interesting Sora. But I don't think anyone forgot about you because…." Riku paused; his voice still had that mysterious air about it. Riku was probably the only one who knew what really happened at Castle Oblivion after Xehanort's heartless was defeated and the three were separated.

Thankfully for him, Kairi tossed in her thoughts. "I wish I can see the worlds you've been to, Sora, and you too Riku!" She stared up at the sky, her blue-violet eyes half-lidded, smiling. "But then, I don't want to disturb the order or anything like that." She let out a small sigh, but continued to smile.

Riku put a hand on her shoulder comfortingly with his own slight grin. "Let's think positively." He remembered Sora's words after the final battle with Xemnas. "I'm sure that maybe one day, all three of us will experience the different worlds out there." He gestured at the pink-purple sky then chuckled. "I'm sorry. That must've been pretty cheesy, huh?"

Sora and Kairi giggled. The chocolate-haired teen shook his head. "No, I like what you're saying, Riku." Suddenly, he jumped from the Papou's trunk, landing a yard away from the retreating waves. He raised an arm, waving an invisible flag, looking back with a wide grin on his face. It was just like almost two years ago. Riku and Kairi exchanged amused looks. Riku looked back and noticed a glass corked bottle washing up at Sora's feet.  
"Hey Sora! There's a message by your feet for us I think." He got up and walked over to Sora as he picked up the bottle. Kairi rushed over.  
"Do you think it's from the king?" She asked. Sora shrugged as he popped out the cork and dumped the parchment from its container.

Riku read out aloud as the other two took in the words silently.

"Dear Sora, Kairi, and Riku;

Have any heartless or nobodies been bothering you lately? From my trips, places like Traverse Town, Radiant Garden, Agrabah, Atlantica, Halloween Town and so on have been receiving an increasing amount of both heartless and nobodies. I have no idea what has been going on since the keyholes have been sealed. I have already departed from the castle in search of the main source of the problem. I feel that something terrible will happen. I aim to stop the flow of darkness into the worlds before it's too late but I need your help.

"I fear there is another mystery. On my travels, I have encountered twelve out of the thirteen special nobodies that were controlled by the members of Organization XIII. I do not know the meaning of this and I pray that you will aid the worlds again and help solve these problems.

"If you burn this paper at night, you will be transported to Disney Castle where Donald and Goofy are waiting. So everything is up to you. Everyone at Destiny Islands will temporarily forget whoever leaves, so you won't have to worry about causing an inconvenience. Good luck to you all if you decide to come.

Sincerely,  
King Mickey. "

"He needs are help again…" Riku added. "I don't know about you guys but I owe the King a big one, so I'll be going. This sounds serious." He took the letter from Sora's hands.  
"Hey! Of course I'm going! Why're you counting me out? Huuuuh?" He put his hands on his hips. As if to go along with him, Kairi crossed her arms.  
"You all know what I want to do, but I also know what you're going to say…"

Sora smiled nervously. "Well… It's too dangerous Kai-" He stopped when she shot him the look.

"I can handle it!"

For some reason, Riku decided not to get involved and took a couple steps back towards the tree.

"Oh come on Kairi, I won't forgive myself if you get hurt, and I'm sure Riku feels the same way. RIGHT RIKU?"

The silver-haired teen flinched. "Well uh… Suuurrreee…"

Kairi flipped a bang defiantly. "Don't back out now Riku! Who's the one who taught me how to do this?" She grinned deviously as she outstretched her arm as colorful orbs of light circled around her hand rapidly.

Sora's jaw dropped.

Riku face!palmed.

Kairi clasped onto a colorful floral keyblade from six months ago. She waved it triumphantly in Sora's face. "Why…" Riku said exasperatedly, tugging at his hair.  
Sora grabbed his friend by the collar and started shaking him. "This is all your fault!" He sobbed dramatically.

Kairi cocked an eyebrow as she observed the strange scene taking place in front of her. She lowered her keyblade to her side. "Uhm, so does that mean I can go?"

Riku's head only fell back when Sora stopped his shaking. Sora looked towards her with a helpless expression.

"I…"

"HRM?"

Sora looked back at Riku as if begging him for some sort of assistance.

Riku sighed again but said, "Well since the problem is that we don't know if Kairi can completely defend herself... But when was the last time we saw her fight anyways?" He turned around and walked back to the papou tree. "I'll sit this one out."  
Sora outstretched a hand. "Wait, Riku! What are you-"

"Do you think you can beat a girl?" Kairi giggled. She raised her arm at a 90 degree angle, pointing her keyblade at Sora. "Come on, please? At least let me prove myself, kay, Sora?"  
Sora blinked to rid himself of the shock. So Riku was training Kairi behind his back? It must've been blackmail or something.

To his own surprise (and maybe Riku's too) Sora nodded. "Okay, Kairi! When we're done, maybe then we'll see!" He raised his hand towards the sky as white light spiraled around his hand to form the Kingdom Key. "Are you ready?" He asked as he took a stance.

Kairi smiled, her eyes sparkling. This was a chance to prove herself she was just as deserving as the boys. She bounded forward, swinging the keyblade from her side. Unfortunately for her, she was quickly blocked and forced back. Not pausing long enough to reveal an opening, Kairi ran forward again, ducking to avoid a blow and threw out her sword arm, barely grazing Sora's side. Sora jumped back to avoid being hit.

_Aw man, she's kind of faster than I expected. Girls… _Sora did a quick sidestep to dodge an incoming swipe. _But she sort of fights like Riku. Not quite though. I guess that guy kept all his secret moves to himself. _Sora concentrated and let out a barrage of attacks. First he blocked and forced back Kairi's keyblade then continued to deliver heavy blows that Kairi barely managed to keep away.

Riku watched from the small distance away. He shut his eyes and rubbed them. All the trails of light the blades were giving off started to imprint themselves on his eyes. He blinked a few times and continued to observe the play fight. "I feel kind of guilty. Sora already has the upper hand, so there's no way Kairi can win unless she kisses him or something." Riku leaned back against the Papou tree trunk and looked towards the now night sky. Some of the closer stars were twinkling, as if greeting Riku's attention. Suddenly, one of them started to flicker dangerously. Riku's aqua eyes widened as the star went out. When he looked back at the two to yell at them, Sora managed to knock Kairi's weapon out of her hand. A second passed as they stared at each other, then they fell on the ground, panting heavily. Riku quickly walked over to them, helping them both up.

"Hey you two, we need to hurry. Worlds are being harmed as we speak, and we don't have much time." He pointed at the stars. Thankfully, the remaining ones continued their normal twinkling. "One just went out a moment ago," Riku answered to their puzzled expressions.

Sora nodded. The keyblade vanished in an orb of light. "The King needs us. We'll burn the paper tomorrow night." Even as he said it, Sora lost his bright expression. "I really want to spend one more day here in peace. Don't you guys want to too?"  
Riku muttered a small "yes" then looked down in guilt. He owed the King so much, why was he feeling so reluctant now?

"Aw, come on guys! We'll be back eventually! After all, the three of us will be together, right? If I'm coming…" Kairi said cheerfully, tone in contrast of the guys'. Sora managed to put on a smile.  
"Yeah, you're right, Kairi. And of course you can come! I'm already worn out and I don't want to spend all my time going on adventures with you know…" He looked nervously at Riku who's eyebrow twitched. It was a warning sign.  
"What's that supposed to mean?"

Sora scratched his head uncomfortably. "Uh… nothing, Riku! Anyways!" he started, dismissing the topic. "So it's settled then, right? We'll meet back here tomorrow."  
"Alright, Sora. My place is farther from here, so I'll be going now. Don't do anything dumb now, okay?" Riku grinned, causing Sora to freeze up.  
"D-don't say that!" He started but Riku already turned around and waved goodbye as he walked to his boat.

When he departed, Kairi turned to Sora. "Did you bring it?" She asked.  
Sora jumped. "Oh yeah! I almost forgot." He fished around in his pocket until he pulled out a dark-gray leather collar. "I got it from my dad. Well, I mean I sort of stole it but he doesn't need it anyways. I know it's for Riku, but what are you going to do to it?"  
Kairi giggled. "You'll see. I was planning for this to be a birthday gift, but we'll be away and I want to give this to him when we all leave. Of course, it'll be all prettied up by then."  
Sora began to imagine Riku wearing a pink-sparkly collar. He quickly dismissed the image in his head. "Okay, Kairi. I guess we should go back now."  
She gave him another one of her soft smiles. "Okay, Sora."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Riku sat at his desk with the lamp turned on. He was flipping through his photo album. He felt happy inside, just looking back at their more innocent days. He remembered dangling a live crab over Sora's face and scaring both him and Kairi with a rubber lizard. He chuckled quietly at their expressions. Suddenly, an eerie feeling washed over him. He felt that similar evil presence. "I know you're there. Quit hiding." Riku said out loud.

"You've gotten a little better since last time we met, Riku…" A sinister voice said, careful to emphasize the name in a way to tick off the teen.  
"Xehanort…" Riku hissed out his name. He turned around to face the faint figure of the heartless that had been taking refuge in his body. "I am stronger now, but you certainly aren't…" Riku observed.

Xehanort's heartless let out a dark laugh that only Riku could hear. "That doesn't matter. I've finally gathered up enough strength to appear before you again."

Riku grimaced. "Whatever. You know that no matter what, you hold no power over me. What are you doing here anyways? Shouldn't you be hiding away in that darkness?"

The heartless smirked malevolently. "I should be asking you the same thing…"

Riku turned away from the dark being. "Ugh, it's always the same thing." He sighed. "Darkness, darkness, darkness! It's getting even more annoying than before. You know that I won't fall for the same thing twice. I'm not a being of the darkness anymore."

"Is that so?" Xehanort said quietly, narrowing his amber eyes. "It's not my job to toss you back into the abyss… "

Riku turned to face him again. "I don't have time for this, and I definitely don't need you. You _know_ that. I'll prove it to you. Go away." Xehanort let out a low growl as he was forcefully contained into a black haze, drifting back into Riku.  
He let out a sigh of relief. "That didn't take much. I won't have to worry about him…" He patted his chest. "Disgusting," he remarked.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

_**The next day at dusk…**_

Kairi and Sora met up with Riku at the beach. Kairi ran towards him. "Hey Riku!" She stopped to catch some breath before opening the pouch at her side and pulling out the collar from yesterday. However, it was different than before. A glazed papou charm dangled from it. She handed the collar to him; Riku accepted it with a look of surprise on his face. Kairi stepped back and smiled warmly at him. Sora grinned. "Kairi fashioned the papou fruit out of clay and painted your name on it. I just gave her the collar to work with."  
Kairi giggled. "No, we both made it together for you, Riku! Come on, try it on!" She urged.  
Riku nodded, smiling slightly as he fixed the collar around his neck snugly. He fingered the smooth leather where his name was written in gold paint.  
"It really looks good on you!" Sora said, poking the papou charm playfully. Riku laughed. "Thanks you guys. I won't forget about this, ever. So are we ready?" The sun was below the horizon.

Sora nodded. "Yeah." He placed the parchment on the ground then pointed at it with his finger and said, "Fire." The parchment instantly ignited. When it burned up completely, a white light circled around the pile of ashes then spread and grew brighter, engulfing the trio.

Nothing was left at the beach. The three were gone, and the ashes had blown away. Sora, Riku, and Kairi didn't exist on Destiny Islands anymore. Nothing left, not even a memory.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Sora had no chance to regain his ground for two bodies had thrown themselves against him, knocking him down.

"Donald, Goofy! Oh man I've missed you guys!" Sora laughed as the two shouted his name over and over again. Only when Queen Minnie addressed them did they quiet down and stand up. The five faced the Queen. She began, "As you know, the King has already left. His whereabouts are unknown once again." The Queen sighed but continued, "Unfortunately, there is a problem with Donald's gummi ship. Our mechanics have estimated that the ship can survive one more travel. Since it's the only one that's available at the moment, I suggest traveling to Radiant Garden to see the man named Leon. His other companions are over there with him too. Maybe they'll be able to find out what's wrong and you all can go on from there.

"Now your goal is to find the source of the incoming heartless and nobodies. We've found a couple signs of the Organization but all of the members have already been defeated…"

"Do you have any idea what's been going on?" Riku asked.

The Queen shook her head. "Unfortunately, no. The overflow of darkness may have something to do with all the nobodies; we were hoping that you three will be able to figure out what is happening…" She blinked. "Oh!" She exclaimed when she looked at Riku and Kairi. "You two must be Sora's friends! I apologize that I haven't introduced myself properly! Sora may have already told you, but I am Queen Minnie of this castle."

"I'm Riku." Riku said bowing his head slightly.  
"And I'm Kairi." The other said, following suite.

Minnie nodded. "It's a pleasure. Now back to business. Donald and Goofy are already prepared, but if any of you need more time to stay here and prepare, feel free to do so."

They shook their head. "No," Sora said. "We're all ready, and the sooner we get out there, the better."

The Queen smiled. "That's good. Good luck to you all! " She nodded her head again and left the vast room.

When she was gone, Donald jumped. "Come on, Sora! I need my ship fixed." He and Goofy turned to lead the way to the gummi ship.

"So it's to Radiant Garden right?" Riku asked the two leading the way.

"Yup!" Goofy answered. "But, it may not be Radiant Garden for long. Leon and Cloud are trying their best to preserve the peace there, but the heartless and nobodies just keep coming, A-hyuck!"

The three looked at each other with serious expressions. Sora and Riku knew what Radiant Garden meant to Kairi. True, she doesn't clearly remember anything about her origins, but the place still felt like home to her, even if it was the slightest bit.

Sora took a deep breath as he entered the familiar gummi ship. He looked around at the interior and Kairi and Riku did the same.

"You guys haven't been on here before. I didn't think that I'd get to show you guys all the things that I saw!" Sora grinned optimistically. "See? This won't be all fighting and seriousness after all!" He turned to look out the window as they traveled. "Man… I missed this."

-X-

Leon and Cloud and co. are coming in next chapter. Stay tuned xD


	2. This Resort

"Rargh…" Riku groaned, smashing his pillow against the back of his head. He was trying to block out the atrocious singing made by Sora and his two friends at the piloting room. Kairi had decided to follow Riku to one of the bedrooms. She now sat cross-legged against one of the walls, looking up at the ceiling as if the singing didn't bother her.

Riku grumpily threw the pillow down since it was no good. Trying his best to ignore the singing, Riku turned to her and asked, "Do you think he's always like this? He almost never sings at the Islands…"  
Kairi lowered her staring to look at him. "I think it's because we nor Wakka or Tidus sing with him… I heard that chorusing with other people boosts up your self confidence."  
Riku shrugged. "Yeah, I guess." He looked out the circular window behind him. Kairi followed his gaze. "It's kind of pretty, don't you think?"  
"Yeah…" He answered absentmindedly. A second passed and he shook his head. "Wait, are you talking about Sora?"  
Kairi giggled. "No, I'm talking about outside. I've never seen something just like that before."  
"Neither have I…" As he stared out into space, Riku began to think how the only thing he was used to outside of home was darkness, darkness, and even more darkness. Knowing that he had missed out on things like this sort of made him sick to the stomach.

"Hey, Riku, are you okay?" Kairi asked.  
Riku turned around a little confused. "Yeah, I am. Why wouldn't I be?"  
Kairi shook her head, her red hair swooshing back and forth. "I can see your face in the reflection. Something wrong?"  
Riku turned back to face the window again. Why did Kairi have notice something like that? "Besides Sora's singing… No, nothing at all." She sighed. "Are you sure, Riku?" He nodded.  
"Okay then… I'm going out to see when we're going to arrive there. You know, Radient Garden or Hollow Bastion. Whatever." The door closed with a sharp click and Riku was left alone. He collapsed back onto his bed and let out a puff of irritation.  
"Damn girls, they never believe you when you lie. Argh…" He buried his face into the sheets in self-defeat.

- - - - - - -

"Oh, you guys are finally quiet." Kairi observed. Sora looked at her. "Eh? You didn't like it? I thought it'd help get rid of the silence ya' know…"  
Kairi grinned and raised her hands, waving them a little. "No, no, I don't mind it all, but I think Riku is trying to sleep."

Sora laughed. "Riku? Why's he being so boring? He should get up and have some fun a bit. Heh, maybe he's actually making out with the pillow. Who'd sleep at this hour?"

"I heard that…" Came a growl from the darkened corridor.

"Oh," Kairi began cheerfully, "Hi, Riku. I didn't think you'd come out now."

"Were you saying something about me snogging an inanimate object?" Riku questioned, one of his eyes twitching.

Sora nodded stupidly. "Uh-huh!" He stretched an eye lid with his finger and stuck out his tongue. "Nyeeee! What are you going to do about it?"

Riku reached out with his hands twitching as if they couldn't wait to wrap themselves around the brunette's neck and strangle him.

"Oh no!" Sora cried in mock drama. "It's a Riku from the black lagoon! Oh whatever shall I do?" He started to strut in circles away from Riku in a certain infuriating way. However, unluckily for him, Riku bounded up to him in three strides and promptly grabbed him by the hair then held him in a headlock. He savagely balled his hand into a fist and started to noogie the living daylights out of Sora. The brunette cried for mercy while writhing to get free, to no avail of course.

Kairi turned away from the playing boys to Donald and Goofy.  
"Are we-" She started but Donald cut into her question.  
"Yup!" He quacked. "I bet you'll like the place, Kairi!" Goofy nodded in agreement. "Yeah, hyuck!"  
Kairi nodded. "I'm sure I will. In a way, it's nice place right?"

- - - - - - - -

"SORA!" Screamed a girl with short black hair and a matching bandana hair band thing. She performed a back flip up to Sora with a wide smile on her face. "Long time no see! Well not really…" She folded her arms and put on a pondering expression. "This mouse guy told us you'd be coming soon hopefully. I couldn't wait!" She said loudly.

"Yuffie… be quiet, you're going to attract some unwanted attention over here." Came a quiet voice behind the ninja girl. It was Leon.  
"Leon!" Sora said happily, in a buddy-buddy tone. He sounded sort of clingy.  
He raised a hand in greeting. "It's good to see you again, Sora." He looked at Kairi and Riku. "Are they friends of yours? Ah, what was it again, Riku and Kairi?" They nodded.  
"And we noticed that you're Leon. Pleased to meet you," Riku said.  
"Me too," Kairi added in.  
The gunblade wielder nodded back in acknowledgment. "I'm glad you all came. It's more than usual, but I guess we need all the help we can get. Let's go back to Cid's place so we can talk more about this."

"Oh yeah!" Sora remembered. "That reminds me, our gummi ship is sort of broken now. It barely survived the trip here and we were wondering if Cid can take a look at it."

Leon blinked. "Broken? That's odd. Gummi ships don't need that much type of maintenance." He shrugged. "It must be an odd case. Anyways, follow me. This place hasn't been completely overrun by the heartless and nobodies, but it's probably going to come sooner or later." As he led them, he continued to inform them about the times when they were gone. "Cloud and I, plus the rest, have been trying our best to keep the darkness away from any of the inhabitants that just moved in. We just barely achieved peace here, thanks to you Sora, so we don't want to lose it again. This place has already been through enough I believe."

"Aw… You sound so serious, Squall!" Yuffie said loudly (again). She jumped on him and quickly got off just in case he decided to skewer her with Revolver.

"It's-"

"Yeah, yeah, Leon I know! I was just kidding, Sorry!"

They reached the outside of the pub. Leon opened the thatched door. "Hey Cid, Sora's here, and his two friends need some help with their vessel it seems."

Cid threw a rag that he was working with on the ground. "Oh, the runts back…" He grunted. He stepped out and eyed the two he hasn't properly met before. "You two must be Sora's lackies or something?"  
Riku sweatdropped but Kairi spoke before he could say anything. "Well you know me by now, but this is Riku." She gestured to him beside her.  
"Oh, that's great." He mumbled, lumbering past them. He looked down at Donald. "So you need help again with your ship? Worthless I tell ya!"  
Donald fumed and Goofy held him down before he caused anything. Cid sighed.  
"Alright, alright, I'll see what I can do." He turned to Leon on and Yuffie. "That stoic dog is still moping around in the corner inside, and Aerith is with him too. I'm sure they'd be mighty happy to see Sora and his friends here." He nodded at them, then turned his attention to Donald again. "Okay, show me where your ship is."

As the three walked away, Leon kept the door open and the four walked in. "Nothing has really changed in the inside here," Yuffie said. "You can stay here as long as you like."

"Oh, hello there," said a soft, feminine voice. Aerith came walking into the room with a tray of her special lemonade in her hands. "You all must be very tired, please try some. You too, Leon."

Leon tried his best to hide his grimace. "Er, no thanks. I've already eaten plenty after today's battle," he lied. Aerith nodded, not noticing the sweat drop running down his cheek.

"I believe you two are Riku and Kairi?" Aerith said without falter. Something about it told them that she knew who they were all along. "It's nice to finally meet you. Please enjoy your stay." She bowed her head slightly and left the room. Sora and Kairi gladly took a glass of lemonade but Riku was more timid to do so. Sora chugged it down and Leon covered his mouth, looking away from him. Kairi politely took sips and made no comment. Riku finally decided to try it and bit his tongue to prevent himself from gagging. It was… salty. An awkward silence was issued. Only then did they notice the dark figure sitting silently in the corner.

"Hey, Cloud… What's been on your mind lately?" Sora asked. He slowly looked up, his sky blue eyes moving eerily to look at Sora. They then darted to observe Kairi, then Riku.  
"My apologies…" He said softly yet coldly at the same time. "I've just been in deep thought." Sora scratched his head. "Er, okay then. Well you still look the same. That's good to hear?"  
"Whatever," he bluntly responded. Sora almost fell over.  
Leon coughed. "Oh stop it, Cloud. You're making great first impressions." Cloud only grunted, showing how little interest he held for what Leon had to say. "If you believe that, Squall." Before Leon could retort, they heard three voices outside.

"Calm down Donald!" came Goofy's voice.  
"My ship!" Donald cried in his raspy-ish voice.  
"Eh… I'm sorry kiddo, but I'm sure your ship is beyond repair. We can't find what exactly is wrong with it." Cid's voice followed. He opened the door and their talking became much clearer.  
"Most likely, the whole thing's totally screwed up. You won't be able to fly the thing anymore unless you remodel it completely and that'll take a while."

Sora stood up. "What? So we can't fly the gummi ship anymore?" Cid nodded, exasperated. Donald hugged Goofy, sobbing hysterically.  
"The ship's really important to him," Sora explained in a whisper to the others.

Cloud sighed. "How troublesome, I didn't think I'd have to do even more traveling after I just got back."

They turned his attention to him. Sora looked puzzled. "Huh? What are you about?"  
Cloud grinned slightly in amusement. "You didn't think that'd I have my own ship, now did you?"  
Leon coughed again. "There you go again. It's actually ours, since I'm only leasing it to you." Cloud gave him a cold stare. "Okay, _our_ ship. Only Leon, Cid, and I know how to fly the thing. So I'll have to accompany you all on your mission. I have a feeling where your king went, so I'll lead the way for now."

"Hold on right there," Leon said. "Cloud, you know that the ship requires two pilots. I'll have to be coming as well."

Cloud nodded. "Yeah, you can look after Sora."

"Hey!" The shorter brunette protested. "But, who's going to watch over Hollow Bastion?"

Cid pointed at himself. "Don't you worry. No heartless or nobody dares to mess with me. I'll take care of it fine."

Yuffie jumped to draw the attention to herself. "Hey! Don't forget about me, can I come, Leon? Please?" She begged.

Leon shook his head. "I'm sorry, Yuffie, but you need to help Cid guard the place." Before she argued, Leon added on, "and it won't be long. I'll be back soon."

Yuffie looked down sadly. "Oh, alright… But I'll get to go next time, right?"

Leon face-palmed. "Oh, alright."

Cloud chuckled at Leon's problem. "So here, follow me you all." He turned to leave but Yuffie jumped in the way.  
"Hold it right there, shouldn't you guys at least let Aerith know?"

"There's no need for that," Almost everyone jumped since they didn't see the woman at the opposite doorway. "It's okay. Go on and good luck to you, Leon and Cloud." She smiled as the two nodded. Yuffie scooted out of the way and the seven of them left.

Sora quickened his pace to pass Leon and up to Cloud. "Hey... Cloud, can I ask you something?"  
"Hm?"  
"Do you think... That all of this is a big burden to you?"  
The blonde did not answer right away. Sora was just about to repeat his question when it took him several seconds to answer. "No... A duty isn't a burden. Simply not fufilling my goal and promise is a burden itself. You understand, right?"  
"Yeah." But Sora thought to himself how Cloud was such a mysterious person. They are both on good terms, but there's still so much he didn't know about the older one.

"Oh wow..." Kairi awed at the giant ship Cloud had led them too. Donald and Goofy awed with her. It was nothing like the gummi ship they had just rode in. This one was much more intricate and larger than the other.

"This isn't really a gummi ship," Leon explained to the others. "It is capable of traveling to different worlds on special occasions. You all know that visiting worlds without requirement is strictly prohibited, yes?" They all nodded. He turned to Cloud. "Okay, you said you knew where the King is, and I think Sora and the rest would like to meet up with them."

Cloud raised a finger to correct him. "I said that I had a feeling. If you guys trust my intuitions, then we'll go, okay?"  
"Alright," Sora said without any disagreement, he looked at Riku and Kairi for their input. "Yeah it should be fine," Riku said.  
Cloud walked to the folded platform and dialed a complex-looking code. They heard something sounding like steam hissing as a closing door lowered itself to give entrance to them.

"Yeah, it's definitely way different than Donald's gummi ship." Sora observed, looking around at his surroundings as he walked in. Cloud turned, leading them into the command and pilot room. Metal bolted windows lined the side in contrast to the gummi ship's rounded windows and generally bright colors. However, the interior of this particular vessel were black, reds, and grays. Leon and Cloud made their way towards the front main window. They both placed their palms on a touch screen. Instantly, the whole ship lit up with illuminating veins and wires, startling the others. Fascinated, Donald followed their footsteps and stood on his toes to take a look at the command board.

"Hey, don't touch," Leon warned remembering what happened back then that forced Sora and his friends into the Space Paranoids world. Donald groaned in disappointment and backed away. Leon moved his pointer finger, pressing a touch buttion, sealing up the entrance, then performed a complex movement. Sora felt the ship vibrate roughly to life. With his palm still on the screen, Cloud turned around to address the others.  
"Just go down there in that direction and that'll lead you to all the rooms you can stay in. Oh and by the way, you happen to find all of my weapons stored somwhere, I recommend you not trying to handle the bondage because it might slice off a limb if you're not carefull."

Sora looked at the nearby walls nervously. "Uh, I'll be sure to remember that. Hey guys, let's go. I want to see what the rooms look like!" Only when they were all of earshot did Leon speak to Cloud.  
"You really like screwing with him, don't you?" He nodded to the buster sword that was bound at the steel podium's side for convenience. Cloud chuckled. "Don't make me sound like a terrible person, he'll probably forget about what I said anyways. You know him."  
Leon shrugged. "Okay, sure. So ready to go?"  
"Definitely readier than you."  
"Oh, whatever."

- - - - - - - - - - -

"Wheee! I call this one!" Sora yelled, not waiting for any of their replies and running recklessly into a random room.  
"Spazz..." Kairi giggled.  
"This is a pretty big ship, I'll be going now." He was just about to enter the nearest room when Kairi grabbed him by the wrist to stop him. Startled by the unexpected movement, Riku craned his head to face her. "What's up?"  
Kairi had suddenly turned serious. "Riku can I talk to you?"  
Riku blinked, clearly confused. Normally, Kairi would confess whatever was on her mind to Sora, not him. He nodded his head "yes" and Kairi dragged him by the wrist to the room right next to his.

She pulled him down so that both of them were sitting on a bed, wrinking the once-perfect sheets.  
To answer his expression, Kairi said, "The reason why I'm not telling Sora any of this is because I already knew what he was going to say. I was reminded by this when he talked to Cloud on our way over here." She paused as they could feel the ship lifting into the air and entering the space between the worlds. As the feeling evened out, she continued, "Now it's been bugging me. Riku..."  
He remembered what Cloud and Sora were thinking about so he had a feeling where this was going.  
"You're still wearing the collar."  
His eyes widened in shock. He didn't see that one coming. His hand flew to the leather strap around his neck. "Of course I am, Kairi. Why?"  
She shook her head. "I... you'll judge me." She looked down but Riku could tell her cheeks were flushing with color. He put a hand on her shoulder. "Come on, you know you can tell me and I know there's somethin up with you? What's been bothering you...?"

Kairi looked to her side nervously. "Well I... I've been feeling really bad about this, but sometimes I feel like I'm just dragging you and Sora down. I know that I really insisted on going, but now I feel really guilty."

Now that was what Riku was expecting, but somehow, the confession still shocked him. "Don't feel like that, Kairi. I trained you myself, didn't I?"

"That's because I blackmailed you with photos." Kairi reminded him.

Riku sweatdropped. "Okay well, that's not the point. I would've helped you anyways even though Sora probably would've gotten mad at me. But still, you have the right to stand up for yourself, don't you? Don't feel down. Even if you were ever a burden, it'd be better to be one early. Who knows, you can be the one who saves us all in the future."

Kairi smiled. "Thanks, Riku. But to be honest, I think it's you that'll save Sora and me."

Riku didn't really know what to say but Kairi got up and walked just under the door frame. "Oh, and you might as well have this room." She winked, confounding the platinum-haired teen even further.

Kairi closed the door dehind her. She walked over to Sora's door and knocked gently. "If you're not Riku, you can come in." Kairi chuckled and slid open the door. Sora was on his belly on the bed reading some random novel he must've found somewhere.

"Oh, Hi Kairi!" Sora greeted, closing the book and throwing it to the side. "What's up?"

She walked closer to his bedside. "Sora... Do you feel it?"

Sora stayed quiet for a moment. "You mean, Roxas?" Kairi nodded. "I feel Namine too, as a seperate being almost. I don't get it, I thought we had already merged?"

Sora placed a single finger on his bottom lip, thinking deeply. "I thought so too, this is really strange. I've been feeling really tired lately and my heart aches just a little bit. I don't know why..."

Kairi took a seat beside him. "I feel kind of scared. If these sort of things are happening inside, what will happen to us?" Kairi's eyes widened in shock as Sora pulled her into a hug. "Don't you worry. Even if I'm dead, I'll still be there for you, right?"

Kairi nodded slowly. She closed her eyes and remembered Riku's words. _I'm so lucky, lucky to have friends like these._ _Riku... Sora, I'm so glad you guys are here with me._

Sora made an abrupt start as Riku opened the door suddenly with such force. "Guys, it's serious. There's something wrong..." He turned and rn towards where Cloud and Leon were. The two followed.

"Leon! Cloud! What's happening?"

"Damn it," Leon swore. "I'm not sure but apparently there's a world nearby that's practically a swirling black hole. To avoid being sucked in, we're gong to have to land there." He pointed out towards a strip of land that was strangely potruding from a swirling mass of blackness. Kairi shuddered. "Just looking at that is giving me the creeps.

"I'm sorry. but if we're going to continue this trip, we'll have to land there and redraw our plan. It's very strange. This world is not on the universal maps. Alright, Leon. Don't mess up."

The ship made a sickening lurch as it turned, avoiding the range of the negative space. As they got closer, they noticed a thick black mist coming from the center of the hole. "What do you think that is?" Sora asked. Riku shrugged. "I have a bad feeling about it, though."

Donald and Goofy came running in in panic. "We're going to crash? Hyuck!" Goofy said. Sora shook his head and told them what was going to happen.

"Are you gonna call Cid?" Donald asked. "No," Leon answered. "Our signal is completely cut off. We're on out own on this one."

"And now we're landing," Cloud stated. All of them almost fell over as the ship landed roughly on a strip of dark gray rock. It slanted at a diagnol angle, avoiding the hole's grasp. "Damn, our radar isn't working." Cloud thrust the screen in frustration. "Leon, you, Donald and Goofy stay here. I'll go with the rest outside, we'll have to find some help."

Leon agreed reluctantly. "Alright, you better not screw this one up."

Cloud nodded. "I won't. Come, guys!" He waved an arm as Leon opened the entrance and grabbed his Buster Sword from its hiding place.

They carefully made they way from the ship, Goofy and Donald ran to the entrance. "Be safe!" Donald called. Riku waved a hand.

The farther they went, the slower Sora and Kairi's movements became. Riku only noticed when they looked like they were going to collapse.

"Hey, keep awake. Are you feeling well? We'll go back if we need too." Riku suggested. Neither of them responded but they doubled over, clutching their centers. Riku cursed. "No, guys!" He quickly reached out, catching both of them before they fell to the hard ground.  
"R-riku..." Sora struggled to say. Kairi dug her nails into his bare arm in agony until finally, both of them went limb into Riku's arms. It might've been his imagination, but Riku could've felt two presences pass right through him. Riku looked up at Cloud.  
"Can you help me carry them...? We're going to have to turn around."

Cloud was just to respond when he felt several dark presences. He pulled out his blade and took a stance. "I'm afraid we have company." Riku cursed again and gently laid down Kairi and Sora. He outstretched his hand as both white and black ribbons of light circled around his palm to form Way to Dawn. Riku strained his eyes and noticed that hundreds of heartless were surrounding them. His eyes widened as he noticed the artificial heartless among the authentic ones. "See those heartless made by Ansem's machine? What are they doing here? We already defeated them long ago!"

Cloud squinted. "How can you tell? It's jet black. I can't make out anything."

Riku's vision got clearer. "What are you talking about? They're there in plain sight!" He felt a dreading feeling in the pit of stomach. Of course he can see what lurks in the dark... He... Riku shook his head violently.

Cloud readied his sword. "It doesn't matter. I know some sort of heartless are there, we can take them out."

Riku nodded and the two charged in opposite directions. They easily defeated each heartless, but more just kept replacing the fallen ones. It seemed hopeless. Riku turned around to check on the unconscioius Sora and Kairi. To his horror, heartless were quickly making their way to the two. Riku rushed forward to slash apart the heartless. "It's no use, Cloud!" he called. Cloud backed towards the center. "You're right, they just keep coming."

Riku slashed at several more heartless with Way to Dawn. "Can you carry both Sora and Kairi back? I can distract them and you guys'll make it." Clouds sword ran through more heartless, creating another haze of black mist. "What about you, though?"  
"I'll be back," Riku assured. "You better be," Cloud warned. "The two will be heartsick as hell if you're gone." He put Sora over his shoulder and Kairi into his arms.  
Riku grinned. "I know. Now go!" Cloud nodded one last time and bounded in the direction from where they came. Heartless were just about to block the path and overwhelm Cloud but Riku swiftly raised a hand and summoned a dark barrier, blocking the heartless. He raised Way to Dawn at head level, blade pointing towards the heartless in his signature pose. "I'm you're opponent now." He ran forward and quickly rid of several more heartless.

Meanwhile, Cloud ran as fast as he could. He could barely feel Sora and Kairi's heartbeat as their skin grew cold. He put more energy into his steps, his teal eyes burning. _Riku, you better come back, for their sake!_

_-x-_

_Whooo 8D_

Next: Will Riku be able to survive the never-ending wave of heartless? What's happening to Sora and Kairi and who's the strange shadow that seems to watch over them?


End file.
